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Can an On-line Archive Avoid Fair Use?

Sat Oct 05, 2013 5:07 am

I am doing some research. And bumped into a troubling message on a great research archive. If you really know copyright, perhaps you could offer an opinion.

I think that if a site posts records, PUBLIC records, principally, publicly, they are overstepping if they say that the Fair Use statute of U.S. Copyright law does not apply.

I got this message on a site:

Terms of Use and Copyright Notice

This site and the information it provides may not be copied for commercial use of any kind or reproduced on another site without explicit written permission.

In some instances, the (organization), Inc. has received limited distribution and publication rights to certain materials. Copying, pasting or caching any page of this site onto another site, is strictly prohibited without written express permission. It is however, permissible to print or save files to a personal computer for personal use ONLY. Use of this site denotes acceptance of these terms.

Now, no matter what, the material published, on-line or otherwise, is still under the ageas of U.S. Copyright Law! I don't see how they can except themselves. It's like saying "if you open this book, you give up your rights." If it's published, and you make use of the Fair Use statute for research (text and public records, mostly), I don't think they can do a doggone thing! I think it's just to scare you. Or why put it on the web in the first place? (They don't even have HTML code to protect against copying!)

U.S. Copyright Law Fair Use Statute:

Copyright Law of the United States of America

and Related Laws Contained in Title 17 of the United States Code

Circular 92

Chapter 1

Subject Matter and Scope of Copyright

§ 107 . Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use40

Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include—

(1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;

(2) the nature of the copyrighted work;

(3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and

(4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if such finding is made upon consideration of all the above factors.

(1) shall be construed to impose liability for copyright infringement upon a library or archives or its employees for the unsupervised use of reproducing equipment located on its premises: Provided, That such equipment displays a notice that the making of a copy may be subject to the copyright law;

(2) excuses a person who uses such reproducing equipment or who requests a copy or phonorecord under subsection (d) from liability for copyright infringement for any such act, or for any later use of such copy or phonorecord, if it exceeds fair use as provided by section 107;

(3) <refers to audiovisual news programs>

(4) in any way affects the right of fair use as provided by section 107, or any contractual obligations assumed at any time by the library or archives when it obtained a copy or phonorecord of a work in its collections.

FAIR USE IS A RIGHT! So, how can they say they you can't use ANYTHING, if you have the right to Fair Use? They claim that their "Terms of Use" trumps U.S. Copyright Law, but that can't be: the law trumps anything one writes on a web site, does it not?

Anyone know about this?

rjm

Re: Can an On-line Archive Avoid Fair Use?

Sat Oct 05, 2013 11:34 am

Why not contact them and ask?

Re: Can an On-line Archive Avoid Fair Use?

Sat Oct 05, 2013 11:42 am

I'm just going to have to do the "written permission" thing. But according the law, I shouldn't have to! If they don't like your project, they can just say no.

I will have to use - tact. We'll call it that.

rjm

Sent From My Phabulous Galaxy Note II Phablet Using Tapatalk 4

Re: Can an On-line Archive Avoid Fair Use?

Sat Oct 05, 2013 3:23 pm

rjm wrote:Now, no matter what, the material published, on-line or otherwise, is still under the ageas of U.S. Copyright Law!

That’s nonsense. U.S. Copyright Law only applies in the U.S.―nowhere else. The terms of use apply globally. They don’t trump national law, of course. But if you don’t have fair use or something similar on your side, you’re bound to the terms of use.

Re: Can an On-line Archive Avoid Fair Use?

Sat Oct 05, 2013 6:56 pm

TAS wrote:

rjm wrote:Now, no matter what, the material published, on-line or otherwise, is still under the ageas of U.S. Copyright Law!

That’s nonsense. U.S. Copyright Law only applies in the U.S.―nowhere else. The terms of use apply globally. They don’t trump national law, of course. But if you don’t have fair use or something similar on your side, you’re bound to the terms of use.

This is correct. The website is covering itself because of the different laws in various countries.

Re: Can an On-line Archive Avoid Fair Use?

Sat Oct 05, 2013 9:51 pm

poormadpeter wrote:

TAS wrote:

rjm wrote:Now, no matter what, the material published, on-line or otherwise, is still under the ageas of U.S. Copyright Law!

That’s nonsense. U.S. Copyright Law only applies in the U.S.―nowhere else. The terms of use apply globally. They don’t trump national law, of course. But if you don’t have fair use or something similar on your side, you’re bound to the terms of use.

This is correct. The website is covering itself because of the different laws in various countries.

At this point, I think it's strictly U.S. They are, and I am.

But the 'net is global, and published books are usually global. So, if something is seen outside the U.S., that must be what this is for, I guess.